Ideas That Work: Supply Management

It’s important to utilize the medications and supplies you paid for instead of letting them go to waste. For years, we checked our emergency carts for expired supplies and medications on a monthly basis. Items would be left in the carts until they were no longer useable, at which time we disposed of them. We now remove supply items a month before they expire. That way, we can exchange items early on the cart, and use the soon-to-expire items before having to throw them out. We don’t take those items to the supply room, though. Instead, they’re taken to a designated area, so staff pull them first when preparing for a case. Medications, meanwhile, are returned to our center’s pharmacy so they can be prioritized and used. We’ve found that isolating older items with plenty of time left to use them is a money-saving strategy.

Valerie Heckmaster, MBA, BSN, RN, CNOR
AdventHealth Surgery Center Lenexa (Kan.)
[email protected]